Welcome to the The Rotary Club of Tamworth West Inc.

Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back.

Mens Health Education Rural Van

The Men's Health Education Rural Van was in Tamworth this past week at Bunnings Warehouse, Cnr Jewry and Lockheed Sts Taminda on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August.

The Men’s Health Education Rural Van (MHERV) is a regional project made possible by fundraising, generous sponsorship and volunteered time given by hundreds of Rotary Volunteers.  It is a custom built caravan with a dedicated Registered Nurse traveling the state of New South Wales offering free health screenings to regional and rural men who otherwise might not feel comfortable going to a doctor for a check up.

Rotary Clubs in Tamworth including our Rotary Club of Tamworth West have been assisting the Van this week.  This is a great initiative to assist with giving Men who haven't had a check up in a while to get the once over.   While the Van has passed through Tamworth for this year it serves as a timely reminder for everyone to make some time for a regular check up with your GP.

Oakburn Park July 2026

On the weekend our Rotarians were once again helping out with manning the gate at Oakburn Park Race Meet on Saturday and Sunday helping the Tamworth Sporting Car Club with collecting gate takings for their weekend event the Drift Matsuri Takeover.

Thanks to all those members who volunteered on Saturday and Sunday.  Picture are the Sunday morning crew of Geoff Galloway, Frank Henry, Ross Constable and Scott Edwards on the gate duty. 
 
 

Celebrating our 70th Year Anniversay Changeover

Last Sunday 14 June Rotary Club of Tamworth West celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the Club's inception along with our annual Changeover Dinner at Tamworth Jockey Club. The Function Room was appropriately decorated by a team of Ladies who wish to remain anonymous and the members and guests enjoyed a delicious three course meal. 

The occasional cake was cut by four of our longest serving members (Gordon Austin, Jim Hombsch, Bob Donoghoe and Bill Forrest) who have a combined membership of in excess of 230 years. 

Westpac Charity Golf Day

 
Graymont and B&K Bulk Haulage Tamworth Charity Golf Day was held at the Tamworth Golf Club last Friday, 8 May 2026.

Great to see our Club members volunteering to help cook the BBQ on the day.  Helping to support an invaluable community service in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service.  A big thankyou to Ron Carr for coordinating with the assistance of Gordon Austin, Richard Chaffey, Tony Summers, Phil Chaseling and Allan Guan.  Well done fellows.
 
 

ANZAC Day Gipps St Memorial Service 2026

 
 
ANZAC Day 2026 and we were blessed by the weather as Rotary Club Tamworth West again welcomed over 300 attendees to our Gipps St Memorial ANZAC Day Service at 7am this morning.

The Service was led by our Club President Scott Edwards and supported by:
. Retired Major Wayne Clarke of the Hunter River Lancers – The ANZAC Day Speech recounting the many wars and battles that Australian soldiers, air crew and naval members had served all around the world over 130 years, before and after Federation;
. Reverend Gus Batley – Prayers and Benediction;
. Max Ellicot – Vocalist leading our attendees in song;
. The Hon Kevin Anderson MP – Brief ANZAC Day Address;
. Tamworth Brass Band – Music, Last Post and Reveille;
. An array of community organisations laying Wreaths; and
. Tamworth High School - laid a wreath and assisted in the tea, coffee and ANZAC biscuits.

We even had our own flyover at the end from a flock of formation Ibis and some Pelicans.

For those who were after something more filling than tea, coffee and biscuits at the conclusion of the service Bacon and Egg Rolls were also served down at the Family Hotel which assist to raise over $120 for the Rotary Foundation.

A special thanks to Jemma and The Family Hotel, who in addition to the breakfast, also supplied all the chairs for the event.

A huge acknowledgement and thanks to our Rotarian Members and support:
. Peter Dillon and Kevin Craggs who in conjunction with President Scott Edwards did a wonderful job of organising the service again this year;
. To Brian Cox from Rentfast who ensured the sound and acoustics were spot on; and
. To Jim Booth and Jace Hindmarsh for the wonderful array of photos from the event.
Thankyou fellows.

And finally thankyou to all those in the community who attended and to reflect on this important day of remembrance.

Lest We Forget!!
 
Photo - Gipps St Memeorial after service with Club President Scott Edwards reflected in the Memorial
 
Full Story continued.

Manning the Gate for Tamworth Tyre Torture Day at Oakburn Park

On the weekend our Rotarians were out and about manning the gate at Oakburn Park Race Meet from 8:30 till 5pm helping the Tamworth Sporting Car Club with their Tamworth Tyre Torture event.

Our fellows on the gate enjoyed a background of non-stop drifting, dirt drag and burnout madness as rubber billowed up behind them throughout the day as they collected entry fees from a steady stream of eager spectators queuing up for a day of heart pounding, tyre shredding and adrenaline fueled action.

Thanks to all those members who volunteered on Saturday.

Tamworth Firefighting Championships Catering

This last weekend Tamworth hosted the Regional Firefighter Championships and Rotary Club of Tamworth West were undertaking the catering. Our club cooked the breakfast on Sunday morning feeding all the firefighting crews participating in the event.
 
We did have some leftover food from the morning which was donated to Billabong Clubhouse.  A big thanks goes to Bede Burke who donated all the eggs used for the event.
Some photos of the crew hard at work during the morning keeping the breakfast rolling

Manning the Gate at Oakburn Park

The team were off to an early start for Valentines Day yesterday out at Oakburn Park manning the gate for the Tamworth Sporting Car Club Race Day Meet.

Two teams of four managed the entrance gate from 8:30am until 4:00pm freeing up the Car Club organisers to manage the actual car club event.

Lots of motoring enthusiasts were greeted at the gate by our friendly Rotarians and happily paid the entrance for a day filled with Rubber and Racing. From our vantage point at the gate we saw little of the actual cars, but with the direction of the wind were treated to the full experience of burning tyres and revving engines.

Thanks to those fellows who volunteered on the day. A big thankyou also to the Tamworth Sporting Car Club for keeping our team well nourished and hydrated with refreshments and lunch during the day.

Family Hotel Country Music Festival BBQ

 
Rotary Club of Tamworth West were out and about during the Tamworth Country Music Festival cooking the BBQ at the Family Hotel from 9pm till late (1:30c - 2:00 am) on the Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 January.
 
Patrons to the Family Hotel were able to purchase sausage and steak sandwiches to help get them through their evening of Country Music.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help out.  With so many visitors to the Tamworth capital this week, in addition to helping raise funds for the local community we got to meet festival goers from all around Australia.
 
Thanks to the Family Hotel for giving us the opportunity to man the BBQ on these nights during this event.

December Working Bee Gunnedah Road Rotary Park

 
This morning our Rotary Club held the last Working Bee for the year to maintain the Gunnedah Road Rotary Park opposite the airport on the entrance to Tamworth coming from Gunnedah.

Thanks to our volunteers this morning, Club President Scott Edwards, Peter Dillon, Ron Carr, Graeme Mills, Allan Guan and James Hindmarsh who spent the morning whipper snipping, moving green waste to the dump and fixing up the last of the picnic table rooves.

It was a particularly warm day in Tamworth today so good to have it all done by midday.  Well done team.
 
Photo Left: Scott Edwards undertaking the counterbalance for the trailer while James Hindmarsh treads down the waste to fit more in.

Recycling Old Batteries, Environmentally Friendly Fundraising

Has your Battery died? Don't throw it away or leave it sitting in the shed gathering dust. Call the Rotary Club of Tamworth West.

Our Club continues to collect old Batteries as part of our fundraising each year and we would love to receive your expired vehicle and machinery batteries.

In addition to assisting our Club to raise much needed funds to support those in need in our community, this project also has environmental benefits.

Recycling of lead acid batteries removes these batteries from farms, businesses, sheds and back yards and effectively turns a waste product into funds to benefit your Tamworth community.

To donate Batteries please visit Bearfast 50 Barnes St Taminda during business hours.

If you haven’t got the ability to bring them in then we can arrange for one of our members to collect (call (02) 6767 9999 during working hours).

ClubRunner - Modernising our Clubs Operations

 
Our guest speaker this week was fellow Rotarian James Hindmarsh who delivered an insightful presentation on ClubRunner, the new integrated website and club management platform recently adopted by the Rotary Club of Tamworth West. James, who has been a member since 2011, explained that the club had been without a website for approximately 18 months after its previous domain was lost. ClubRunner, a US-based software package designed specifically for service organizations like Rotary, was chosen to fill this gap and modernize our club's administrative and promotional activities.

James highlighted ClubRunner's key features, emphasizing its role as a centralized hub for managing membership, events, and communications. The platform securely stores all club data in one place, from member details and recognition history to event calendars and bulletin archives. This integration significantly reduces administrative burdens. For example, bulletin editors no longer need to manually chase information for upcoming speakers or events instead, "widgets" automatically pull this data from the calendar, streamlining the process. The system also facilitates direct integration with Rotary International, ensuring membership records are always synchronized.

A major focus of the presentation was ClubRunner's powerful event and volunteer management capabilities. James demonstrated how he created an event page for the upcoming Country Music Festival barbecue in January, complete with organizer details, which automatically appeared on the website calendar. He showed how members can be assigned to specific shifts, receive automatic calendar invitations, and be contacted in targeted groups for updates, making coordination simpler and more efficient. The system also automatically tracks volunteer hours, which is invaluable for reporting and recognition. James concluded by encouraging all members to download the "ClubRunner" mobile app, which provides easy access to the member directory, club documents, event calendars, and news stories, ensuring everyone can stay connected and engaged with club activities.

Tamworth West Rotary Motor Show May 2025

Tamworth West Rotary Club would like to extend a big thankyou to everyone who exhibited and attended our Motor Show on 17 and 18 May this year. The Show was most successful and all net proceeds raised were distributed to local community organisations and charities in the Tamworth and surrounding area.

By participating and attending the Motor Show the community helped our Club with the contributing of funds to those most at need in our community. Due to the support received for our Motor Show we raised sufficient net proceeds to be able to contribute $29,500 back to the community this year.

A big thankyou again to all our sponsors, but particularly Whitehaven, National Trust, Shannon's Insurance and Transwest Fuels and to everyone who has volunteered their time and resources to assist in making this years Motor Show another success.

Finally thanks to Tania and Kobi from Connecting with Bricks for providing such a fantastic Lego display and entertainment area for all the kids (young and old) who attended the Show.

Best of Show 1970 Holden HQ displayed right

World Polio Day

This week was a big one in the Rotary Calendar with Friday 24 October being World End Polio Day.  

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system.

Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.

As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.

Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.

Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.

If you would like to find out more and / or donate please follow the link below:
 
https://www.endpolio.org/world-polio-day

PolioPlus trek to Everest Base Camp

From scaling Everest's slopes to the front lines of public health, Rotary is committed to ending polio for good.

Jessie Harman, past Rotary International Director and chair of Rotary Foundation Australia, recently completed a challenging trek to Everest Base Camp, raising over AUD 30,000 to support PolioPlus. Her journey is a powerful reminder: the final steps toward eradicating polio are the toughest, but with courage and support, we will get there.

 Read her story and join us in finishing the job: on.rotary.org/3Wc57zF

Out and About Volunteering in October

Our Rotary Club Tamworth West members have been out and about volunteering this weekend 18 - 19 October 2025

Tamworth Legacy held their Veterans’ Family Day today from 10am to 3pm at the Tamworth Rugby Park on Marius St. Our members were gainfully occupied manning the BBQ helping to feed the participants attending the event today.

Meanwhile, out at Oakburn Park the Tamworth Sporting Car Club are holding their Tamworth Drift Matsuri this weekend. A team of members are assisting with manning the Speedway Gate for the car club this weekend helping the Car Club to make this a successful event.

Giving up a few hours on their weekend to give back to the community is very rewarding.

Working Bee at Gunnedah Road Rotary Park

Our Rotary Members have been holding a number of Working Bees during the month of September at the Gunnedah Road Rotary Park to assist with making it a pleasant stopping point for travelers approaching Tamworth.  
 
Our final working bee on 27 September now sees all the picnic tables rooves maintained, boards on Seats and tables replaced where needed and repainted. Peter and Frank were hard at work fixing the roof of the last picnic table. Gavin, Ron and James working on the tables, Scott did a great job clearing the jungle off the playground fence.  Richard and Alan on lawns and whipper snipper. Millsy arrived in time to instigate and assist it resetting some of the concrete and wooden barriers.

Real team effort from the crew.  Big thanks to Gordon and Rosemary who brought morning tea out for the team. (see the full story board for photos of the team in action)
 

Rotary at the Start of the United Nations

Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.

During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter.

Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”

Young Inventor Eco-Friendly Bricks Come Full Circle

Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”